Radio Ballad
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The radio ballad is an audio
documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...
format created by
Ewan MacColl James Henry Miller (25 January 1915 – 22 October 1989), better known by his stage name Ewan MacColl, was a British folk singer-songwriter, folk song collector, labour activist and actor. Born in England to Scottish parents, he is known as o ...
,
Peggy Seeger Margaret "Peggy" Seeger (born June 17, 1935) is an American Folk music, folk singer and songwriter. She has lived in Britain for more than 60 years and was married to the singer-songwriter Ewan MacColl until his death in 1989. She is a member ...
, and Charles Parker in 1958. It combines four elements of sound: songs, instrumental music, sound effects, and, most importantly, the recorded voices of those who are the subjects of the documentary. The latter element was revolutionary; previous radio documentaries had used either professional voice actors or prepared scripts.


Original radio ballads

The original radio ballads were recorded for the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
. MacColl wrote a variety of songs especially for them, many of which have become folk classics. The trio together made eight radio ballads between 1958 and 1964. They were: # ''The Ballad of John Axon'' (1958), about an engine driver who died trying to stop a runaway freight train # ''Song of a Road'' (1959), about the men who built the London-Yorkshire motorway, the M1 # ''Singing the Fishing'' (1960), about the men and women of the
herring Herring are various species of forage fish, belonging to the Order (biology), order Clupeiformes. Herring often move in large Shoaling and schooling, schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate wate ...
fishing fleets of
East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...
and Northeast Scotland # ''The Big Hewer'' (1961), about the
miners A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face (mining), face; cutt ...
of the
Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...
, Durham,
South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...
and
East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire (except for North Lincolnshire and North East ...
coalfields # ''The Body Blow'' (1962), about people suffering from
polio Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...
# ''On the Edge'' (1963), about teenagers in Britain # ''The Fight Game'' (1963), about boxers # ''The Travelling People'' (1964), about the
nomadic people Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pas ...
s of Ireland and Britain. ''Singing the Fishing'' won the
Prix Italia The Prix Italia is an international television, radio-broadcasting and web award. It was established in 1948 by RAI – Radiotelevisione Italiana (in 1948, RAI had the denomination RAI – Radio Audizioni Italiane) in Capri and is honoured with th ...
for radio documentary in October 1960. All eight radio ballads were released on LP, by
Argo Records Argo Records was a record label in Chicago that was established in 1955 in music, 1955 as a division of Chess Records. Originally the label was called Marterry, but bandleader Ralph Marterie objected, and within a couple of months the imprint w ...
, and later on CD. They are also available via Listen Again on the BBC Radio 2 website. A book about the making of the radio ballads was published on the fiftieth anniversary of the first broadcast of ''John Axon''. ''Set into Song: Ewan MacColl, Charles Parker and the Radio Ballads'' was written and researched by Peter Cox, published by Labatie Books and has an extensive website which carries the first two pages of each chapter, the complete transcripts and cast lists for each programme, bibliography, footnotes and reviews.


Transmission dates

* ''The Ballad of John Axon'' - 2 July 1958 * ''Song Of A Road'' - 5 November 1959 * ''Singing The Fishing'' - 16 August 1960 * ''The Big Hewer'' - 18 August 1961 * ''The Body Blow'' - 27 March 1962 * ''On The Edge'' - 13 February 1963 * ''The Fight Game'' - 3 July 1963 * ''The Travelling People'' - 17 April 1964


Missing ballads

In an unpublished letter to ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', in 1999, Ian Campbell detailed a further two programmes made a year apart, by Parker, with music by Campbell (and John Chapman in the former case), without the involvement of MacColl or Seeger, and broadcast, according to Campbell, "to critical acclaim", then "consigned… to permanent oblivion". * ''The Jewellery'' - about Birmingham's
Jewellery Quarter The Jewellery Quarter is an area of central Birmingham, England, in the north-western area of Birmingham City Centre, with a population of 19,000 in a area. The Jewellery Quarter is Europe's largest concentration of businesses involved in the ...
. No programme with this title appears in the ''Radio Times'' but an episode of ''People Today'' broadcast on the Home Service on 12 April 1962 was produced by Charles Parker so may have been a source of material. * ''Cry from the Cut'' - about the Midlands canal network, broadcast on BBC Home Service Midland, 13 February 1962.


2006 radio ballads

In 2006,
BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...
broadcast six new radio ballads using the same format, with musical direction by
John Tams John Tams (born 16 February 1949) is an English actor, singer, songwriter, composer and musician born in Holbrook, Derbyshire, Holbrook, Derbyshire, the son of a Public house, publican. He first worked as a reporter for the ''Ripley, Derbyshire ...
, and contributions from Karine Polwart,
Jez Lowe John Gerard "Jez" Lowe (born 14 July 1955) is an English folk singer-songwriter. Lowe was born and raised in County Durham, in a family with Irish roots. He is known primarily for his compositions dealing with daily life in North-East England, ...
and
Cara Dillon Cara Elizabeth Dillon (born 21 July 1975, in Dungiven, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland) is a Northern Irish folk singer. In 1995, she joined the folk supergroup Equation and signed a record deal with Warners Music Group. After leaving t ...
among others. The following ballads were broadcast between February and April 2006: ''The Song of Steel'' on the decline of the
Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
and
Rotherham Rotherham ( ) is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies at the confluence of the River Rother, South Yorkshire, River Rother, from which the town gets its name, and the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don. It is the largest settlement ...
Steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...
Industry (27 February); ''The Enemy That Lives Within'', on
HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...
/
AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
(6 March); ''The Horn of the Hunter'', on
Foxhunting Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, normally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of houn ...
(13 March); ''Swings and Roundabouts'', on Travellers who run fairgrounds (20 March) ''Thirty Years of Conflict''; on
The Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...
in
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
(27 March); and ''The Ballad of the Big Ships'', on the
shipyards A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes more involved ...
of the Tyne and the Clyde, (3 April). All were later released on CD, and a separate CD was also released containing a selection of the songs drawn from across the series.


2010 Ballad of the Miners' Strike

In 2010, to mark the 25th Anniversary of the 1984-85 Miners' Strike, the BBC broadcast a new Radio Ballad, the ''Ballad of the Miners' Strike''.


2012 Olympic Games radio ballads

In 2012
BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...
broadcast a series of six new radio ballads on the subject of the
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...
with original songs from
Nancy Kerr Nancy Kerr (; born 1975) is an English folk musician and songwriter, specialising in the fiddle and singing. She is a Principal Lecturer in Folk Music at Newcastle University. She was the 2015 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards "Folk Singer of the Year". ...
, Jez Lowe, Julie Matthews,
Martin Simpson Martin Stewart Simpson (born 5 May 1953) is an English folk singer, guitarist and songwriter. His music reflects a wide variety of influences and styles, rooted in Britain, Ireland, America and beyond. He builds a purposeful, often upbeat voi ...
and Boo Hewerdine amongst others. The following ballads were broadcast in July and August 2012: ''Olympia'' on the origins of the Olympic Games; ''Berlin'' which focused on the
1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...
; ''Munich'' on the
1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...
; ''Controversies''; ''Going for Gold''; and ''The Marathon''.


Raidió Teilifís Éireann

On 13 September 2020
RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...
broadcast ''The Ballad of the Stolwijk Rescue'', possibly the first Irish radio ballad, based around an interview with the last eyewitness to a dramatic rescue from a Dutch shipwreck and the music of Brían Mac Gloinn.


2021 The Song of the Golden Road

In 2021, west-wales based community arts organisatio
SPAN Arts
working with community development charit
PLANED
and using a grant from the
National Lottery Heritage Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...
, produced a new radio ballad entitled ''The Song of the Golden Road'' (in Welsh, ''Cân y Ffordd Euraidd''). The hour-long piece in English and in Welsh focusses on the bilingual rural communities of the
Preseli Hills The Preseli Mountains (, ; or ), also known as the Preseli Hills, or just the Preselis, are a range of hills in western Wales, mostly within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and entirely within the county of Pembrokeshire. The range ...
in north
Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...
.


21st Century Folk

In January 2023 the BBC released a set of folk songs about five people from the
north-east of England The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each ...
, under the title "21st Century Folk". They were described as a "modern take" on the radio ballad.


References

{{Reflist


External links


The original radio ballads on the BBC Radio 2 websiteThe 2006 radio ballads on the BBC Radio 2 websiteSet into Song: Ewan MacColl, Charles Parker and the Radio Ballads
Music of the United Kingdom Folk music Radio documentaries